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The Laws of Gods and Men
"The Laws of Gods and Men" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Game of Thrones.http://winteriscoming.net/2014/03/game-of-thrones-season-4-episode-6-title-revealed/ It is the thirty-sixth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 11, 2014. It was written by producers Bryan Cogman and directed by Alik Sakharov. Plot Summary At the Dreadfort Yara Greyjoy prepares her troops for their assault on the Dreadfort to rescue her brother Theon. She reads the letter sent by Ramsay Snow, threatening to flay all ironborn who do not leave the North. While Ramsay has rather violent sex with Myranda, Yara and her troops land and scale the walls of the castle. They quietly take out the guards as they search for Theon. Interrogating a guard, Yara learns of Theon's location which is the dog kennels. There, the Ironborn and Yara see Theon sitting in a cage. Yara opens the cage, but Theon refuses to go with her, believing it is another cruel trick played by Ramsay. Ramsay and several Bolton troops enter and a fight ensues, with several Bolton and Greyjoy soldiers killed. Theon tells Yara his name has always been Reek, bites her, and cowers in his cage. Ramsay releases the Bastard's Girls and Yara is forced to retreat to her ship. When one of the ironmen asks of Theon, Yara says Theon is "dead." Ramsay allows Reek to take a bath, as a reward for his loyalty. Reek fears the bath is another trick but Ramsay assures him it is not. While Reek bathes, Ramsay now plans to assault Moat Cailin and needs Reek to pretend to be someone he isn't: Theon Greyjoy. At King's Landing At a meeting of the Small Council, Tywin informs the councillors that Tyrion's trial will begin that afternoon. Lord Varys informs Tywin that The Hound has been spotted in the Riverlands, and Tywin orders a bounty on his head. Varys also informs the council of Daenerys's conquest of Meereen, and Tywin decides to take measures to prevent her from launching an invasion. In the dungeon, Jaime has Tyrion shackled and brought into the throne room to begin his trial. King Tommen recuses himself from the trial, appointing his grandfather Tywin, Prince Oberyn Martell, and Lord Mace Tyrell as judges. Several witnesses are called for the prosecution, including Ser Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle, Queen Regent Cersei, and Varys, all of whom give testimony backing the accusations against Tyrion. At recess, Jaime asks Tywin to spare Tyrion, offering to break his oath to the Kingsguard and return to Casterly Rock, to be his heir. Tywin accepts, telling Jaime that Tyrion will be allowed to join the Night's Watch after being found guilty of Joffrey's murder, provided he pleads for mercy. Returning to the trial, Tywin orders the next witness to testify: Shae. She testifies that Tyrion and Sansa planned Joffrey's murder together, claiming that Sansa wanted vengeance for the murder of her father, mother, and brother. She tells the judges of Tyrion's sexual desires, embarrassing him in front of the crowd. Before she can continue, Tyrion, enraged beyond sense, angrily demands that he be allowed to confess his crimes. He angrily roars about how he saved King's Landing from Stannis Baratheon's forces and says he should've allowed Stannis to kill everyone in King's Landing, much to the horror and disgust of the people in the court. Tyrion then claims to be guilty. Tywin assumes that he is guilty for murdering King Joffrey Baratheon. Tyrion denies this, saying he is guilty of a "far more monstrous crime. I am guilty of being a dwarf!". Tywin scoffs at Tyrion's claims and says he is not on trial for being a dwarf. Tyrion angrily says he has been on trial for his entire life as a dwarf. Tywin asks if he has nothing to say in his defense. Tyrion then says he has nothing to say in his defense "but only this." He then reveals his true feelings about Joffrey, denying guilt in the king's murder but saying he wished to have killed Joffrey himself. Tyrion then turns his full fury towards Cersei and says that watching her "vicious bastard" of a son die gave him more relief than "a thousand lying whores." He then turns around to the court and roars that he wishes to have become the monster they thought he was and would have gladly give his life to watch everyone die from drinking poison. This enrages everyone in the court and Tywin orders Ser Meryn to escort Tyrion back to the dungeons. Before he can be escorted out, Tyrion bellows that he will not lose his life for a crime he did not commit and, knowing that he will get no justice from the court, demands a trial by combat. In Braavos Stannis Baratheon and Ser Davos visit the Iron Bank of Braavos in hopes of securing funds to aid Stannis' war effort. At first the representatives from the bank reject their request, but Davos entreats them and points out that funding Stannis is the best way they could possibly get the gold they loaned to Tywin Lannister back. They agree to help, and Davos once again recruits his old pirate friend Salladhor Saan to Stannis' cause using some of the gold acquired from the Iron Bank. In Meereen On one sunny day outside of Meereen, a goat herder and his son are peacefully tending the goats on a hill while the son throws rocks to pass the time. Suddenly, Drogon (now the size of a small ship) appears and burns the field and kills a flock of goats while taking one with him. The goat herder travels to Meereen to visit the queen and lays the charred remains of his flock before Daenerys, hoping to not anger the queen and believes it to be punishment. Daenerys apologizes about Drogon's actions and promises to pay back three times the worth. After he departs, Hizdahr zo Loraq presents his petition: the right to bury his father's remains in the Temple of the Graces, as he was one of the Meereenese Great Masters crucified on Daenerys's orders. She counters that he was one of the masters that crucified the 163 children. Loraq reveals that his father actually spoke out against the crucifixion of the slave children (he was overruled), but was killed due to Daenerys's "justice" anyway. Somewhat mollified, Daenerys allows him to bury his father. As he leaves, Daenerys asks how many more supplicants are waiting; Missandei answers that there are over 200 more. Appearances First *Tycho Nestoris *Lhara *Goatherd Deaths *Bolton guardsmen *Greyjoy raiders Production Cast Starring *Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister *Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister *Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister *Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen *Charles Dance as Lord Tywin Lannister *Natalie Dormer as Lady Margaery Tyrell *Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth *Stephen Dillane as King Stannis Baratheon *Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy *Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Snow *Conleth Hill as Lord Varys *Sibel Kekilli as Shae *with Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont Guest starring *Pedro Pascal as Prince Oberyn Martell *Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle *Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy *Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris *Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell *Lucian Msamati as Salladhor Saan *Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei *Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm *Gemma Whelan as Princess Yara Greyjoy *Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell *Dean-Charles Chapman as King Tommen Baratheon *Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant *Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq *Charlotte Hope as Myranda *Phillip Arditti as a goatherd *Rhodri Miles as a First Mate *Sarine Sofair as Lhara *Samantha McEwan *Michael Hough as Ironborn in skiff *Anthony Boyle as a Bolton guard *Conor Watters as Hizdahr zo Loraq's manservant *Gian Sanghera-Warren *Mackenzie Dean Cast notes *13 of 26 cast members for the fourth season appear in this episode *Starring cast members John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Aidan Gillen (Petyr Baelish), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Rose Leslie (Ygritte), Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Carice van Houten (Melisandre) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) are not credited and do not appear in this episode. Notes *This is the first episode in which absolutely none of the Starks appear, nor any of their immediate supporters (i.e. the Tullys such as Catelyn's brother Edmure and uncle Brynden, or loyal vassals such as the Umbers, or even Brienne of Tarth). Even Eddard's bastard son Jon Snow does not appear in this episode. In Season 1, Eddard was in every episode except the last, but Catelyn and his children did appear in the finale. Afterwards, one of Eddard's children would appear at least once in every episode, rotating between Robb, Sansa, Arya, and Bran (who was often accompanied by Rickon). Arya appeared in every episode of Season 2 except "Blackwater", which focused entirely on events in King's Landing, but at least Sansa appeared in that episode. In Season 3, Arya appeared in every episode except the first, but Robb, Catelyn, and Sansa did appear in the premiere. **Even if Jon Snow was disregarded, this point would still stand: of Eddard's five lawful children, at least one of them appeared in every episode from Season 2 onwards. In fact, the only episode up to this point in which none of Eddard's five lawful children appeared was Season 1 episode 7, "You Win or You Die", which Jon Snow did appear in. The episode still focused on Eddard Stark himself, and his failed attempt to stop Cersei from crowning Joffrey as king (it was also one of only three episodes to date that even Tyrion didn't appear in). **Additionally, none of the Night's Watch characters or storylines appear in this episode (as there have been a few episodes that Jon didn't appear in, but Samwell Tarly did). Margaery and Loras Tyrell appear in this episode but have no speaking lines. *In the HBO Inside the Episode featurette, Benioff and Weiss explain that Tywin's immediate and unhesitating answer of "done" to Jaime's offer is a subtle hint that this is exactly what Tywin was hoping for, if not as soon as Tyrion was arrested then as a plan he settled on long before the trial began. It is debatable whether Tywin would ever have Tyrion actually killed (if only because it might be seen as embarrassing for a Lannister to be executed), but Tywin quickly realized that he could turn the situation to his advantage, using the threat of killing Tyrion to manipulate Jaime into making such a deal. With one stroke, his hated son Tyrion will be exiled, while Jaime will be forced to accept being his heir. *It is stated in this episode that Tywin Lannister is 67 years old, though in the books, he is 58 years old at this point in the narrative. *The Free City of Braavos makes its first on-screen appearance in this episode, though it has often been mentioned since Season 1. This makes it the second of the Free Cities to actually be shown on-screen, following the introducing of the Targaryens in Pentos at the beginning of Season 1. *The brief subplot of Yara Greyjoy mounting a raid against the Dreadfort to try to rescue Theon, despite the prominence given to its setup in the Season 3 finale, quickly fails in this episode: it actually has no equivalent in the books. Theon's sister (named Asha in the books) simply thinks that Theon is dead. Moreover, the Iron Islands are on the exact opposite side of Westeros from the Dreadfort: the Iron Islands are off the west coast of the continent and the Dreadfort is far to the northeast. There are no canals. Given that George R.R. Martin has stated that Westeros is about the size of real-life South America, Yara traveling from Pyke to the Dreadfort is the equivalent of sailing from Ecuador to Venezuela, by travelling south around Cape Horn. Such a journey would take many months. Then again, the TV series has added more time to the narrative (extending it so that one season equals one year within the story): one month is stated to have passed between the Season 3 finale and Season 4 premiere, and this episode is in the later half of Season 4, so the implication might be that Yara managed to make the voyage in about two to three months. **Of course, Ramsay's letter said that he would give the ironborn until the first night of the full moon to withdraw from the North, or he would start sending them more boxes containing pieces of Theon, implying that he gave them a deadline of no more than one month. It isn't clear how much time has passed between episodes 1 and 6 of Season 4, but dialogue clearly established that Joffrey's wedding occurred about one month after the Red Wedding. **It is vaguely possible that because she was in a hurry, Yara could have sailed to the isthmus of the Neck, where the fortress of Moat Cailin is currently controlled by a force of ironborn sent there by her father in Season 2, and she and her crew could have crossed overland to reach another ironborn ship waiting on the eastern coast. But that does not appear to be the TV series's intent. *In the books, Ramsay's torture of Theon is so severe that even people who knew him before it physically cannot recognize him: he looks like he has aged forty years from the stress, his skin is pasty white from not seeing the light of the sun for over a year, he looks like a skeleton from starving in the dungeons, and Ramsay knocked his teeth out. Yara doesn't have trouble recognizing Theon in this episode, though admittedly it would be difficult for practical effects to fully portray this (that, and in these circumstances, Yara actually forced a Bolton soldier with a blade to his throat to specifically point out which cell Theon was in). *Mace Tyrell has been named the new Master of Ships. Stannis was actually the Master of Ships under Robert, but after the war broke out, Cersei simply left the office functionally vacant for over a year, until Tywin resumed his office as Hand of the King. Mace's position is in-part due to the fact that, with the destruction of the Royal Fleet at the Battle of the Blackwater, the Redwyne Fleet is now the only large naval force available to the Lannisters - and House Redwyne are loyal vassals of the Tyrells (in fact, Olenna Tyrell herself was born Olenna Redwyne). **Oberyn asks what specific office on the Small Council he will be given, but the matter is not addressed. Of the seven positions on the council, Tywin is Hand of the King, Jaime is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Varys remains as Master of Whisperers, Pycelle remains as Grand Maester, and now Mace is Master of Ships. Of the remaining two offices, Tyrion has been stripped of his position as Master of Coin, though no mention is made of who the Master of Laws is. In the books, Tywin actually appointed his younger brother (and most trusted lieutenant) Kevan Lannister as Master of Laws after they arrived in the city, but the character has not reappeared in Season 3 or Season 4 up to this point (the actor may be unavailable). In the books, Tywin does not bother to give Oberyn a specific office, but has him sit on the council as an advisor without specific duties. *Oberyn Martell mentions that he spent five years in Essos. In the books, this occurred in Oberyn's youth, after he killed Lord Yronwood in a formal duel. House Yronwood called for Oberyn's blood, so Oberyn was sent abroad to the Free Cities for several years until tempers at home cooled down: none dared to call his travels "exile", which is what it functionally was. In that time Oberyn served in several sellsword companies, including the Second Sons, and would have seen Unsullied soldiers in battle. *This episode corrects a small point about Varys: in the Season 3 episode "And Now His Watch is Ended" he explained to Tyrion that as a youth he was a slave who was part of a troupe of actors who traveled around the different Free Cities, until he was sold to the sorcerer who castrated him in Myr. That episode left out the detail from the books that Varys was actually born as a slave in Lys, and Myr just happened to be the city where his acting troupe was at the time. This episode confirms that Varys is a Lysene, as Oberyn points out that he recognizes his hint of an accent. *In terms of Currency, this is the first episode to introduce the denomination of the Gold Dragon known as the Silver Stag, when Tywin offers a 100 Silver Stag bounty on Sandor Clegane. From the books, 1 Gold Dragon equals 210 Silver Stags, and 1 Silver Stag equals 56 Copper Pennies (which have been mentioned earlier in the TV series). Thus 1 Gold Dragon equals 11,760 Copper Pennies (56 X 210 = 11,760). There are a few other more rare denominations (a Copper Star is worth 8 normal Copper Pennies), but these are the three major, common denominations. **The round coins which Davos shows to Salladhor are not Braavosi coins, because they have appeared in the TV series before and are square-shaped (matching their description from the books). We haven't had a good look at Gold Dragon coins before, but the coins Davos has don't appear to be those either: when Salladhor holds one up, it can be seen that they are stamped with the hourglass-shaped symbol of the Iron Bank, which was seen on the wall of the room where Stannis met the bankers. It is possible that they are some sort of unique voucher-coin given out by the Iron Bank. *This is the first time the opening features two locations in Essos (Braavos and Meereen). In the books *The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Storm of Swords: **Chapter 66, Tyrion IX: Tyrion's trial occurs with numerous witnesses accusing him of the crime. **Chapter 70, Tyrion X: Tyrion demands a trial by combat once Shae exits. *The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons **Chapter 2, Daenerys I: Daenerys meets petitioners of Meereen including the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq and a shepherd who claims that Dany's dragons devoured his sheep. **Chapter 9, Davos I: Davos asks Salladhor Saan for ships once again. *Shae's appearance in the episode follows the pattern of the books. However, her motives seems more based on revenge, and hatred for being rejected. In the books she is more cynical and did not care about Tyrion, and her motive for testifying against him in the trial was financial, Cersei having bribed her for her testimony. *In the books the strangler is not among the poisons in Pycelle's collection. This fact is brought to attention during the trial. Memorable quotes Tyrion Lannister'' - "I demand a trial by combat." 'Yara Greyjoy' - "My brother is dead." '''Tyrion Lannister' - "You once said that without me, this city would have faced certain defeat. You said that the histories would never mention me. but you would not forget. Have you forgotten, Lord Varys?" Varys - "Sadly, my lord, I never forget a thing." Tyrion Lannister - "No, of that I am innocent. I am guilty of a far more monstrous crime. I am guilty of being a dwarf." Image Gallery Video gallery Game of Thrones The Laws of Gods and Men - Fan Vs. Critic|Fan Vs. Critic References Category:Season 4 Category:Season 4 Episodes